Because I am 8 and 9 years younger than my siblings, it is interesting the things that were around for them to remember, but not me.

Let me know if anything on my list sounds familiar.

1. Bought Candy at Swanson’s Store, a.k.a. the “Little Blue Store” or “Mina’s”.2. Parked with your boyfriend or girlfriend up Vergobbi Gulch or Ross Ranch.3. Walked “The Trail” up to Kellogg High School, then past the school and up to the reservoir.4. You know that “Lead Creek” is the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River, and going “Up the River” means going to the North Fork of the Coeur d’ Alene River. You could swim up the river. You couldn’t swim in Lead Creek. (And that’s pronounced crik, not creeeeek.)5. You refer to the Kellogg’s only subdivision as the “Old Airport”, even though there hasn’t been an airport there for 40 years.6. You attended either Elk Creek, St. Rita’s, Lincoln, Sunnyside, Wardner, Silver King, Pinehurst or Canyon Elementary before you came into Kellogg to attend junior high and high school.7. When you were at Sunnyside, the Lincoln School kids seemed mean and scary. When you went to junior high, the kids who came from Pinehurst Elementary seemed mean and scary. 8. When you went to Kellogg High School, the Wallace High kids seemed mean and scary.9. You knew there were prostitutes in Wallace and they lived on Cedar Street, but you averted your eyes every time you were in Wallace because you were afraid of what you might see.10. Having an ethnic meal was taking a trip to Wallace and eating at Pepe’s Taco House.Smelter Smoke was normal.11. You rarely had new kids in class, and most of the kids you went to kindergarten with in the basement of Kellogg Junior High School you graduated with from Kellogg High School.12. You took dance lessons from Betty Damiano.13. You climbed up to the “Keep Idaho Green” sign made with tires spray painted white located on the hills behind your house.14. You attended the St. Rita’s Bazaar and the Elks Roundup in Kellogg, and Frontier Days in Smelterville.15. You dressed up funny and walked in the Kellogg Crazy Days parade.16. The Dave Smith parking lot on Hill Street was once Pappy’s Pizza.17. Speaking of Dave Smith, you remember when it was once Wellman’s Chevrolet.18. You remember when Smelterville got the Fun Center, and with it came going Moonlight Bowling, playing Pac Man and Space Invaders, and attending dances at the roller rink.19. Going swimming in the basement of the YMCA.20. Remembering the picture of Noah Kellogg and his jackass when you ate in the Noah Kellogg room at the Sunshine Inn.21. There was a wooden bridge over Lead Creek on Division Street.22. Ice skating on Elk Creek Pond.23. Switching the light off and on at the cross at the Kellogg Cemetery.24. Attending a “kegger” up Latour Creek, or up the river or up some gulch. 25. KWAL was the only radio station you could listen to, because you couldn’t get reception for any others.

14 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Your list was very fun to read. #9 about the prostitutes brought back a funny memory for me. During the three years I attended KHS, which was many years prior to you, the City Hall hosted a "take over City Hall Day" for the seniors each spring. We got to spend the day there, pretending that we were the City employees. Although I think that everyone knew about the prostitutes, I was not aware until that day that the City Hall maintained a binder with their pictures and names. We were allowed to look through the binder--(no privacy issues then I guess.) Some of the women actually looked familiar to us. Anyway after that my dear friend and I (both female) decided one Sat. night to drive up to Wallace and look at the buildings. I vaguely remember the names such as the U and I, and The Lux. As we were driving around the block, lo and behold, there we saw a couple of our male classmates from KHS on the street. What else would they have been doing there? Who would have thunk? We had a very hardy laugh and were classy enough to keep the information to ourselves. I laughed today.

That is a great story. I always felt like there was something a bit clandestine about even looking at where the "houses" might be. I think Cedar Street was a rite of passage for quite a few KHS males, as well as many others in this area. Thanks again for sharing.

That was fun. I'm going to check out RP's too.Pepe's-Yep, original tooLived in Wallace didn't know there were pros about until late H.S. days, then only rumor, nice band uniforms came from somewhere thoughSmelter smoke-never normalKnew girls who took dance from B.Damiano-I never did but it might have been fun!Frontier Days! yessireeeSvingen Rambler was the placeSwimming in the YMCA-would have forgot, thanksIs there any other station than KWAL, even now?Wallace High kids really were mean & scary,..that is too bad, it was just life and the way it was. What was normal in Wallace, as I found out later teaching at KHS wasn't necessarily normal in Kellogg or for that matter, Mullan.

Forgot. Speaking of Wallace kids, did you ever notice that one of the letters was missing out of the Steelworkers lettering on the side of the union hall, circa spring of 1970 and for a number of years later?

Excellent list. Let's see, I grew up in Kellogg and never knew you could turn off the light at the cross at the cemetary, but I remember Wellman Chevolet, and I loved those tacos with a large milk at Pepe's.

e.h., don't ever remember one of the letters missing off of the Steelworkers. And probably if I did, I just thought it was normal. Do you know something about that, perhaps? So, why were Wallace kids so mean and scary?

One night it was removed by a rogue facing an lynch mob that was angry that an upriver person would dare come to "their" dance. The mob disbursed shortly thereafter. That was the same person who was burned in effigy (quaint custom) in the fall of '69. There is no "why", it just "was" and there is no explanation. It "was" just life.

The Cat Houses in Wallace, beginning with the one next to the police/fire station and movie theater, were the Jade Rooms, Arment Rooms, U&I Rooms, Oasis Rooms, and then cross the street and make a right to go one block to the Lux Rooms. In Kellogg, the cat houses were the Plaza Rooms (adjoining the car dealership once run by the mayor) and across the street and just before the bridge, the Miners Rooms. I've been to all of them many times. They were nice people.

Before Wellman's, it was Walker Chevrolet and uptown a couple doors away from the YMCA. Pepes???? I remember when you couldn't buy a tortilla at any store in town. And when the Pix theater was in Smelterville before the skating rink. And summer dances at the Union Legion hall.

Loved reading the stories. Do any Smelterville kids remember sledding at Blackhawk? I seem to remember an old house on the bottom right of the road we used and going into the creek on more than one occassion. Mind you this was before kneepads and helments but we all survived more or less. Then there was the going home from Silver King school with a sore throat from the smoke emmissioons. Still and all, good days.

I went to Elk Creek Elementary in the late 1940s - early 1950s. I am writing a memoir about growing up in the last house on the west fork of Moon Creek. I am looking for a photo of Elk Creek school from the period 1947-1953. I have photos of the inside of the school (during school play productions put on by Gladys Mulroney), but none of the outside of the school except for group class photos that didn't show the school. Do any of you have a photo of the school or might direct me where to look? None show up on the internet.